Fremantle Prison Field Trip - Case Study Example

Assessment 2: Fremantle Prison Field Trip Name: Carmen Wong Student ID: 16865172 TABLE OF CONTENTS 2.0 The background of Fremantle prison heritage 4 2.1 The location and the structure of the Fremantle prison 4 2.2 Life Stage – Start-up, Maturity, Decline 6 2.3 Business Strategy 7 3.0 Main Body of Report 8 3.1 Management Structure 8 3.2 Marketing Strategy & Interpretation 9 3.3 Risk Management 10 4.0 Conclusion and Recommendations 11 References 13 Appendices 16 1.0 Introduction Tourism attraction sites are the key aspects that make the tourism industry to survive and be meaningful to the countries that depend on tourism as an economic activity. Many countries in the world discover new tourism sites yearly and this improves their tourism activities. The new tourism sites that are discovered are extensively becoming famous to an extent that they are outdoing the previous sites that were renowned. Furthermore, the new sites are developing very fast, making the tourism industries to expand and thus boosting the economic activities of most countries. One of the new tourism sites discovered is the; prison tours that offered guiding travelers from former prisons in United States and other parts of the world. The well popular historic or monument sites that were considered the best tourism attractions in the world are currently being faced out. On the other hand, traditional and cultural practices are being conserved and maintained in the ruling and dominant cultural social group. Human cultural practices are difficult to understand but the same cultural practices are the ones that support the tourism industry. The term convict has been one common term mostly used in the tourism industry. The term has been popularly used in Australia where not all prisoners convicted are termed as convicts but only prisoners who convicted in England and then moved to Australia (Brian, 1992, p. 39). According to the cultural practices and beliefs in Australia, the term convict was taken as a taboo in the past, but nowadays the term convict has been given another point of view, where it is no longer viewed as a taboo. This has especially happened from the era when convicts were involved in the construction of female factories. Also the buildings constructed by the convicts such as; convicts working places, convicts hide outs and escape routes became of importance in terms of tourism, whereby they became of heritage and provided the best sites for tourist gaze (Roberts, 2011, p. 33). This report has focused the Fremantle prison in the Western Australia; the operation management of the Fremantle prison has been examined in order to demonstrate how the Prison transformed to become a convict heritage tourism product. 2.0 The background of Fremantle prison heritage The prison is an initiative of the state government which is headed by the minister of Works. Its operation and management activities are being taken care of by the Western Australia Department of Housing and works (Fremantle Prison Heritage Precinct Master Plan, 2003). The Fremantle prison was commissioned in November 1991 after a long closure that took place in 1983 due to prisoner’s riots and growing concern over the prison conditions (Henry, 1859). The prison became the Fremantle heritage precinct in January 1992. The prison trust committee was established in the same year to carry out a number of activities. This committee was expected to provide advice to the Minister concerning the conservation and interpretation, making the precinct as a resource and attracting visitors and compatible uses. The sections of the Fremantle were divided into many sections. Some of the sections were leased to the private sector and some of the sections were leased to the public sector. The Fremantle prison has become one of the tourists’ attractions leading to a large number of visitors touring the place over the past ten years. Fremantle prison has a number of areas that have been discussed below. 2.1 The location and the structure of the Fremantle prison The Fremantle prison in Australia is located in Terrace. The Prison is owned by the Crown Land Reserve 24042 and it covers approximately 6 hectares of land surrounded by Hampton Road to the east, southward is the Fothergill Street, westward is the Terrace and northward is the Knutsford Street (National Heritage Places, 2013). The prison is located within the city of Fremantle where it overlooks the port city of Fremantle and one of the Perth’s major regional centres. This very location of the Fremantle prison is closer to the Fremantle’s landmarks buildings and facilities such as Fremantle Markets, Fremantle Town Centre westward, Fremantle Hospital southwards, Fremantle Arts Centre northward and Monument Hill on the north eastern part. In the Appendices, Figure 1 shows the aerial photograph and map of the Fremantle prison as located in the Fremantle city. Fremantle prison has very many interesting buildings and structures which were built so many years ago when it was operating as a prison. This was about 133 years of its operation as a prison. The major interesting structures of the Freemantle prison include; the main Cell, the cell block which is the Australian’s largest and strongest. The cell block measures 145 meters long by four storeys’ high (National Heritage Places, 2013). The cell block has the capacity to accommodate up to 1000 men. The other structures are the; the chapel, the wards, yards, refractory cells, gatehouse complex which is a two –storey limestone building, the prison officer residences on the Terrance, hospital, the service buildings, the workshops in the east, the Fairbairn street ramp access tramway and lastly the three terraces built as warders’ cottages, 7-17, 19-29 and 31-41 Henderson street (Commonwealth of Australia, 2005). The prison also has an underground reservoir, a kilometer-long tunnel network, and limestone perimeter premier walls (National Heritage Places, 2013). The site plan of Fremantle Prison showing the location of each of the zones is shown in figure 2 in the appendances. 2.2 Life Stage – Start-up, Maturity, Decline Fremantle prison was built for the purpose of retaining the convicts. The construction of the prison started by the establishment of the Penal Settlement in Australia in 1850s and the construction of the prison commenced in the year 1851. The construction started by the building of the warder’s Cottages and this construction stopped at the end of December 1859 when the entire area had been put under construction (Building Timeline, 2013). By the year 1868 the transportation of the convicts from UK to Western Australia had stopped and in 1876 there was the termination of the Colonial Convict Department. The Fremantle prison continued to host prisoners until the year 1991 when it the commenced in its process of development into a major historic heritage site of Australia. The Fremantle prison had operated for almost 140 years as a prison where it housed hardened criminals, convicts, women prisoners, prisoners of war, the ones initially deported from England, escapes and those given life sentences. The convicts received different types of punishments. Some of the punishments included; flogging, solitary confinements, which were suggested by the brutally unenlightened juridical establishment (Jacqueline, 1973). In the year 1983, the prison was closed under the decision of the Western Australian State Cabinet. Nevertheless, the cabinet acknowledged that the site offered wonderful possibilities for imaginative uses and still maintaining its integrity of historic development (The Modern Era, 2013). In 1991 the prison was decommissioned and a variety of heritage management strategies were put in practice in order to ensure that the historic maintenance was maintained. The Freemantle prison over years had engaged in roles such as; being public works prison, a convict distribution depot, the state’s only place for executions, an internment camp for –aliens and POWs during the last two world Wars. At the present, the Freemantle Prison is a popular cultural and tourist attraction site since it was decommissioned in the year 1991. 2.3 Business Strategy The Freemantle prison is looking forward to maintain balance between the compatibility uses and the realization of its potential to generate income that will be used for the conservation and development of the sites. The major source of the income is the government funding which is being supplemented by the income which is received from the visitors who tours the sites. There are a number of tours being offered in Freemantle prison. These tours have been listed below; i. Doing Time Tour ii. Great Escapes Tour iii. Tunnels Tour iv. Torchlight Tour v. Fremantle Prison Art Tour (Tours, 2013) The Freemantle prison has also received income through events funding such as the use of the significant forecourt area, leasing opportunities through the method of reusing the buildings on the site and finally the attraction of the partnership and grant funding. The Freemantle Prison shop has been known of having a wide range of unique souvenirs produced in the Western Australia prisons. The major souvenirs which have been noted are the replica key, cat-o-nine tails, leg irons and chains. Finally is has been noted that gift vouchers are also available in the Freemantle prison’s gift shop. The gift shops also provide a number of clothing which includes; convict pyjamas, freemantle prison branded T-shirts and bad bear apparel. The gift shop also contains gifts for the events which are normally available from their event organizers. Such event gift includes; Prison replica keys, wristbands, enamel prison mugs and thumb cuffs. Irrespective of the above gifts available in the prison gift shops, the related types of gifts available are; A range of books features Prison, Fremantle and Western Australian characters. Lastly there is history and the aboriginal and Australian culture (Gift Shop, 2011). 3.0 Main Body of Report The Fremantle prison has fully become tourist attraction scenery after undergoing a number of development stages. The stages of the initial heritage passed by the Fremantle Prison Precinct are the initial heritage conservation, planning and development. The Fremantle prison has both the local and international visitors. The local or domestic tourists comprises of convict ancestry, ex-prisoners, and the former prison officials .The operation of the site by the team of the Fremantle prison, has been done through the building and entire master plan conservation. The team of Fremantle Prison has also put in place a number of strategies to manage the operation of the site. 3.1 Management Structure Fremantle prison has been placed in a category where it is headed by the Minister of Works within the Government of Western Australia. This category is specifically meant for the purpose of conservation and management of historic buildings and ancillary and beneficial uses thereto (Vesting Order of the Governor of Western Australia, 1993). The Minister has a number of duties to perform in respect to the existence of the Fremantle Prison. The Minister is expected to to oversee the conservation, management and also responsible for the interpretation and monitoring of the site. In the Ministry of Works there are several departments to ensure the smooth operations of the activities. One of the departments is the Department of Treasury and Finance which oversees the daily operations, maintenance and heritage conservation. The Prison has the general Manager and the Executive Manager. The General Manager is responsible for the entire Prison. The Executive Manager reports to the General Manager. The Manager of the Heritage Conversation and the Visitors services Branch Manager, the property Manager, the Marketing and Events Managers , the Retail Services Coordinators, members of staff and specialist consultants, all report to the Executive Manager and they also support the Executive Manager to carry out his duties successfully. The management structure of the Fremantle Prison is shown in figure 3 in the appendices. 3.2 Marketing Strategy & Interpretation The Fremantle prison has ways of carrying out their marketing strategy and interpretation. One of the marketing strategies has been shown where the Fremantle Prison has brochures available at Tourist Information Centres and accommodation units all over Western Australia. The Fremantle prison has also ventured in providing educational resources as one way of carrying out marketing strategy. The Fremantle prison has provided educational resources to history students and their teachers with the aim of supporting their educational curriculum. The educational resources include the Fremantle prison history and the information that students and their teachers requires before they can book for a visit to the Fremantle Prison (Educational Resources, 2013). Another additional aspect is that Fremantle has excellent web-site which despite of being informative and educative, the site also is attractive to visitors thus providing a good networking between the Fremantle Prison and other sites. The networked sites such as touring exhibitions, press releases and hosting events have really provided the best marketing strategy for the Fremantle Prison. From the Organization Structure of the Fremantle Prison, the Interpretation Executives plays a very vital function as far as Fremantle Prison is concerned. This is because a series of interpretations has to be made in order to communicate the heritage the significance of the place to the visitors. Some of the strategies made by the Interpretation Executive include; strategies to increase understanding , appreciation and awareness of the entire identified local, State, National and potential heritage values, the strategies for directions on innovative interpretative approaches to narrating the Fremantle prison stories that do not have effects on the significant physical fabric. Lastly the strategies to interpret the sectioning of history of the place from convict to colonial and state prison that enables a large number of audiences to be contacted (Conservation Management Plan, 2010). 3.3 Risk Management A number of risk management strategies have been put in place in the Fremantle Prison by Mr. Luke Donegan, who is the Manager of the Heritage Conservation. These strategies are; Safety Plan and Emergency Evaluation Plan that caters for the recognition of the importance of protecting the historic fabric, moveable heritage, art and artifacts and lastly the staff and visitors to the site. The other risk management strategy is by the Fremantle Prison is having the fire detection in place. There are a number of prohibited activities to be carried out within the vicinity of the Fremantle Prison. These activities are; smoking and using naked flames in the vicinity. The visitors in the Fremantle Prison are being escorted by the tour guides to ensure the visitors are safe and also the visiting sites are kept safe and way from damage. These tour guides have been confined to the bitumen and concrete surfaces where the sites will have very small impact due to the visitation of the visitors. The Fremantle Prison is put under control by the Employee observation and regular Building Condition Assessments (BCA). The BCA ensures that the surfaces used by the public are in good conditions and they are maintained well. The last risk management strategy taken by the Fremantle Prison is ensuring that the prison is constructed mainly using Tamala limestone, brick, corrugated iron, timber joinery and metalwork which are well conserved. This kind of risk management has made it possible to protect the fabric from water penetration. Through all these risk management strategies, it can be viewed that Fremantle Prison has high degree of authenticity. This is so because the building of its original and the present fabric have made so many changes in the prison the physical evidence that the new and selective rebuilding of the fabric would be possible when all the underlined risk management strategies are followed with the right steps (Conservation Management Plan, 2010). 4.0 Conclusion and Recommendations For the Fremantle Prison to continue shinning in the heritage practices that lead to the conservation, creation of a precinct and providing an environment that encourages the continuous visitation of tourists to the site there are a number of suggested programs and documents to be adopted by the Fremantle Prison. Some of these have been heighted below. The establishment of a short-stay accommodation will attract many visitors that want to experience something unique and new. The improvement of restaurant facilities, more choice to cater different needs of different visitors from all over the world will also see that many visitors are attracted to the site frequently. The establishment of a complete online system which enables the visitors to check the available tour options, the respective timetable and booking their ticket online. References Brian, F. 1992. “Australia’s Convict Origins: Myth and History.” History Today 42 (5): 39. http://search.proquest.com.dbgw.lis.curtin.edu.au/docview/202806593?accountid=10382 Building Timeline. 2013. Building Timeline of Convict Establishment (1850-60). Fremantle Prison. Assessed October 12, http://www.fremantleprison.com.au/Cultural_Heritage/prisonbuildings/buildingtimeline/Pages/default.aspx Conservation Management Plan. 2002. “Cultural Heritage – Conservation.” Fremantle Prison. Assessed October 12, http://www.fremantleprison.com.au/Cultural_Heritage/conservation/conservationmanagementplan/Documents/Fremantle%20Prison%20CMP%20Feb%202010%20Sectn%201-3.pdf Fremantle Prison Heritage Precinct Master Plan. 2003. “Section 1 – Background.” Fremantle Prison. Assessed October 12, 2013, http://www.fremantleprison.com.au/About_Us/visionandmasterplan/Documents/0230.647.DHW-GG%20Sect%201.pdf National Heritage Places. 2013. National Heritage Places – Fremantle Prison. Australian Government Department of the Environment. Assessed October 12, 2013, http://www.environment.gov.au/heritage/places/national/fremantle-prison/ Roberts, D. A. 2011. “The ‘Knotted Hands that Set Us High’: Labour History and the Study of Convict Australia.” Labour History: A Journal of Labour and Social History 100(18): 33. doi: 10.5263/labourhistory.100.0033 The Modern Era. 2013. History. Fremantle Prison. Assessed October 12, http://www.fremantleprison.com.au/History/themodernera/Pages/default.aspx?Print=true Tours.2013.Tours.FremantlePrison.AssessedOctobe12, http://www.fremantleprison.com.au/Visit_Us/tours/Pages/default.aspx Henry, W. 1859. History. Welcome to Fremantle prison. Assessed 15 October 2013, http://www.fremantleprison.com.au/HISTORY/Pages/default.aspx Commonwealth of Australia 2005. National Heritage List. Welcome to Fremantle prison. Assessed 15 October 2013. http://www.fremantleprison.com.au/Cultural_Heritage/heritagesignificance/nationalheritagelist/Pages/default.aspx Jacqueline, Z. W.1973.” Prison: Cultural Memory and Dark Tourism” pp44, Assessed 15 October 2013, http://books.google.co.ke/books?id=A2u89AmqZ7kC&pg=PA46&lpg=PA46&dq=the+kinds+of+convicts+that+were+hosted+by+fremantle+prison+during+its+operation+as+prison&source=bl&ots=JA7qfcijO2&sig=PNyAiHyYlLVdEg4peeautU1uGAk&hl=en&sa=X&ei=0ztdUvKHMNDDtAbK8IDYDg&ved=0CFcQ6AEwCA#v=onepage&q=the%20kinds%20of%20convicts%20that%20were%20hosted%20by%20fremantle%20prison%20during%20its%20operation%20as%20prison&f=false Gift Shop. 2011. Gift Shop. Welcome to Fremantle prison. Assessed 15 October 2013, http://www.fremantleprison.com.au/Shop/Pages/default.aspx Educational Resources.2013. Educational Resources. Fremantle Prison. Assessed 15 October 2013, http://www.fremantleprison.com.au/schoolgroups/educationalresources/Pages/default.aspx Conservation Management Plan, 2010. Fremantle Prison Conservation Management Plan pp 127, assessed on 15 October, 2013, http://www.fremantleprison.com.au/Cultural_Heritage/conservation/conservationmanagementplan/Documents/Fremantle%20Prison%20CMP%20Feb%202010%20Sectn%205-8.pdf Appendices Figure 3: The management structure of Fremantle Prison. Read More